Obituaries

William J. Whitehead Jr.
1921 - 2009

Funeral services for William J. Whitehead Jr., 87, Savannah, Mo., will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Warren-McElwain Mortuary. Burial with military honors will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery.Mr. Whitehead died Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009, at La Verna Village Nursing Home in Savannah, Mo. He was a former resident of Lawrence.He was born July 28, 1921, in Fort Riley, the son of William J. and Pearl M. Hunt Whitehead. He attended Topeka High School.Mr. Whitehead served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He was discharged in 1945 with the rank of sergeant. He received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.He worked for Farmland Industries as a shift supervisor for 30 years.Mr. Whitehead was a 32nd Degree mason and a member of the Lawrence Masonic Lodge No. 6, a Boy Scout leader, a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and the 86th Division Rolling W.He married Gladys M. Bennett on Oct. 5, 1944, in Topeka. She died Jan. 6, 2008.Survivors include a daughter, Barbara Martin and husband William, Savannah, Mo.; a son, James and wife JoAnn, Logan, Utah; two sisters, Dorothy Babcock, and Vivian Anderson and husband Earl, all of Huntsville, Ala.; five grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.The family will meet friends from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Friday before services at the mortuary.The family suggests memorials to Heartland Hands of Hope Hospice, St. Joseph, Mo., sent in care of the mortuary.Online condolences may be sent at warrenmcelwain .com, subject: Whitehead.